A Fishy Business
by Rebekah D. Author
Summary: My name is Talya, and I speak for the fish.


We're all over the Bible.

We're all over the present.

Most people don't even notice us other than the mere mentions of our great multiplication in Jesus' hands.

My name is Talya, and I speak for the fish.

We fish were created along with all those other creatures, way back in the beginning. Here's the words to prove it—and I quote—

 _And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good._

That's Genesis 1:21, people. We fish count under the whole "every living creature that moveth," part. Trust me. I know.

Okay, so, fast forward a little while. We fish are practically non-existent in the part between the creation and the plagues in Egypt. Oh, sure, you human-people ate us. No doubt about that. But there's no mention of my kind until Exodus 7:21:

 _And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt._

See, Egyptians, it wasn't just you and your firstborns that died in those ten plagues over Egypt. We fish died too.

Fish don't just show up in all the bad stories of the Bible, though. Just look at the story of Jonah. Yeah, sure, for him that big fish was kind of a bad story, but look! By obeying Yahweh, one of my people did a great service to Jonah. And he didn't even have to drown to learn his lesson.

Another good one (I love this story!): A fish was used to pay Christ's taxes once. Well, not literally, but you get the idea. Jesus sent Peter down to the sea, and when he caught a fish, he opened up the fish's mouth and found the tax money. Not so bad, eh?

We also did a pretty good job of providing for the disciples' families, too. You didn't think that Jesus would just pick up twelve men and leave their wives at home to take care of themselves, did you? Peter had a wife—at least, he certainly had a mother-in-law! We helped take care of them.

What, you say? What do I mean, fish provided for the wives of the disciples? Check it out in Luke 5 and John 21. I'll just quote Luke 5 verses, oh, 4 to 11.

 _Now when he_ —that's Jesus, by the way— _had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught._

 _And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net._

 _And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake._

 _And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink._

 _When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord._

 _For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:_

 _And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men._

 _And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him._

Now, pay special attention to that last verse. What do you suppose they did with all that fish? Two boats' worth, people! They didn't just throw them back into the sea! How much do you want to bet that they sold those fish, and that's what helped take care of those families for those three years they were on the road? Huh? What do you think?

So, see. We fish, we're more important than you think.

Remember that next time you throw a stick of dynamite into the river and watch our lifeless bodies float up to the surface.

Remember that next time you order a filleted fish.

We _are_ important.

 **Author's Note: I almost feel like I should apologize for the silliness of this little oneshot. It's a product of an interesting sermon at church and my having already typed over ten thousand words in one day. Yeah. Silliness was in order.**

 **A couple little notes about this story: First, yes, Talya's introduction up there is an obvious rip-off of** _ **The Lorax**_ **, both the movie and the Doctor Seuss book. I own neither.**

 **The "fact" Talya presents about the fish from the miraculous catches being used to provide for the disciples' families is** _ **not**_ **a fact, despite what she may say. It's just speculation on my and my sisters' part.**

 **Oh, and the dynamite-fishing there at the end? It's common here in South America. No better way to ensure your living by fishing!**

 **So, what do you think? How did Jesus provide for the disciples' families while they followed him? And what other creatures of the Bible are very much ignored?**


End file.
